Ithaca Sciencenter's new Wall of Inspiration honors teachers and scientists

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

You know of Curie, Darwin, Edison and Einstein. But do you know about Dukepoo, Bailey, Comstock or Bell?

You will if you close your textbooks, open your eyes and stare straight up at the Ithaca Sciencenter's new Wall of Inspiration, which was dedicated July 27. The Wall of Inspiration honors 100 scientists, each with a 28-inch-square plaque, in new NYSEG Foundation Community Room at the center, 601 First St. in Ithaca. Each plaque, which represents a donation of $3,000, includes the name of the scientist, a description of his or her achievements, a photograph, a quote and a dedication from the donor.

"This is not a top 100 scientists list. This is a very personal display for donors who chose someone who was inspirational to them. We tried consciously to get people from all backgrounds. It's a very diverse group," said Charles Trautmann, the Sciencenter's executive director and Cornell adjunct professor of engineering.

Cornell's American Indian Program donated funds for a plaque honoring the late Frank Dukepoo, a native American (Hopi) geneticist and an administrator of the National Science Foundation.

Cornell is well-represented on the wall. Included is Liberty Hyde Bailey, a Cornell agriculture professor and dean at the beginning of the 20th century, who many consider the father of modern farming. And there is Anna Botsford Comstock, the first female Cornell professor and arguably the mother of nature education.

Who is Tracey McNamara, whose name is on one plaque? She is a Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine graduate who identified the similarities between encephalitis in birds and humans while working at the Bronx Zoo. Those findings led to the discovery of the West Nile virus. Nobel laureate Hans Bethe, Cornell's J.W. Anderson Professor Emeritus of Physics, also earned a place on the wall. So did the late Carl Sagan, the Cornell astronomer who brought knowledge of the breadth of the cosmos via TV into millions of American living rooms. Jim Bell, a Cornell assistant professor of astronomy, made the wall for his research on the geology of Mars and for being an inspirational teacher.

The Wall of Inspiration is but one part of the Sciencenter's new wing opening in the fall. There also will be a discovery room, a teen technology clubhouse, an exhibit development shop, an early childhood area and an amphitheater.